Govt to review passenger service charge, says Dr M
Nicholas Chung
-August 16, 2019 8:42 PM
Dr Mahathir Mohamad waves during his visit to AirAsia’s RedQ headquarters in Sepang today. He is flanked by Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook and AirAsia X chairman Rafidah Aziz.SEPANG: Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said the government will review the rates of the passenger service charge (PSC), or airport tax, after the High Court ordered AirAsia in July to pay RM40.6 million to Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd in unpaid fees.
He agreed that it was not fair for low-cost airline passengers using klia2 to be charged the same amount of PSC as premium airline passengers using KL International Airport (KLIA).
“We’re studying the structure of our taxes so that we can be fair to everyone,” he told reporters after an official visit to AirAsia’s RedQ headquarters here.
AirAsia had refused to collect the full RM73 in PSC from passengers departing klia2 to non-Asean destinations, after the tax was increased by RM23 from the previous RM50.
Following the court ruling, the airline started to collect the additional RM23 in PSC, saying it was doing so “under strong protest”.
Mahathir also said the government is considering postponing the implementation of the departure levy, which is set to start in September.
Asked if the government is considering the move, he simply said: “We will look into that.”
The levy, announced by the finance ministry earlier this month, will see passengers flying out of the country paying between RM8 and RM150 from Sept 1.
Travellers heading to Asean countries in economy class will have to pay RM8, while a RM50 levy will be imposed on those flying in other than economy class
Those flying to non-Asean countries will be charged RM20 if they fly economy class, while those flying other than economy class will need to pay RM150.
The departure levy had been proposed in Budget 2019 by the government, which said it was to encourage the development of domestic tourism.
